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Still, he wanted land — lots of it — for a corporate hunting retreat. Said he might build a lodge, to entice some big-roller clients of his in Vegas.

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They described finding beds on a top floor of the temple, including one that had what looked like a long strand of female hair.

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A child welfare worker said some women at the sect's ranch may have had children when they were minors, some as young as 13.

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ACLU joins debate about FLDS kids' custody
Also, a Utah man gets 1,000 signatures from people opposing the children's removal
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/21/2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas - The ACLU of Texas has joined the debate over the removal of 416 children from a polygamous sect's ranch more than two weeks ago.
    And a Utah man has gathered 1,000 signatures on an online petition site from people who oppose the blanket removal of the children from the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado. That petition is on its way to Texas, said Connor Boyack, a political blogger. The petition is online at http://www.thepetitionsite.com
    /2/free-the-innocent-flds.
    In a statement released Friday, the ACLU said the situation has raised "serious and difficult issues regarding the sometimes competing rights of children and their parents."
    Judge Barbara Walthers ruled Friday that the state had proved all the children were in imminent danger of being abused or neglected by their parents, who are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
    The ACLU issued the statement after listening to some testimony but before the judge issued an order continuing state custody of the children.
    "While we acknowledge that Judge Walthers' task may be unprecedented in Texas judicial history, we question whether the current proceedings adequately protect the fundamental rights of the mothers and children of the FLDS," Terri Burke, the ACLU's executive director, said in the statement.
    Connor Boyack, of Lehi, said his petition drive - which also cites constitutional rights - asks that the children be released and officials apologize for the "acts of aggression" against the FLDS.
    He posted the petition April 15 and five days later reached his goal of 1,000 names. About 75 percent of those signing identified themselves by name.
    Boyack is sending the petition to Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Commissioner Cockerell of the Department of Family Services, among others.
    "I don't expect too much to come of it," he said.

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Polygamist fashion in spotlight
BY HILLARY RHODES The Associated Press

    For a society accustomed to the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, the images of the women from the polygamist compound in Texas are almost shocking in their understatement: Ankle-length dresses, makeup-less faces, hauntingly uniform hair.
    And while no one would accuse the women of making a fashion statement, the pioneer-style outfi ts are a rare example of how in an age of overexposure, modesty, too, can give pause.
    The puff-sleeved, pastel dresses worn by the women in the sect are a combination of original 19th-century wear and 1950s clothing that was adopted when the church took a conservative turn, according to Janet Bennion, an anthropologist who studies polygamist women.
    The dresses are meant to show modesty and conformity: They go down to the ankles and wrists, and are often worn over garments or pants, making sure every possibly provocative inch of skin is covered.
    John Llewellyn, a polygamy expert and retired Salt Lake County sheriff’s lieutenant, says the women cover themselves “so that they’re unattractive to the outside world or other men.”
    The appearance of unity through uniform dress, however, can belie the jealousy that often arises when the women — who might all look alike to an outsider — find themselves in competition with one another over the affections of the same man, Llewellyn says.
    The clothing is also stitched with special markings “to protect the body and to remind you of your commitment,” Bennion says. She declined to go into detail about the stitchings because she said it would be an infraction against the fundamentalist Mormon community to talk about their sacred symbols.
    Pastel colors evoke femininity and don’t come across as bold or strong, says Bennion, a professor at Lyndon State College in Vermont.
    Then there’s the question of the elaborate hairdos.
    The women never cut their hair because they believe they will use it to wash Christ’s feet during the Second Coming, Bennion says. A Biblical quote says a woman’s hair should be her crowning glory.
    The bangs are grown out and rolled (but usually not using a curling iron, because that would be too modern). There are sausage curls on the sides and often braids down the back.
    The exact history of the hairstyle is unclear, but it is reminiscent of the Gibson Girl image of the 1800s. It’s a pre-World War II look, exaggerated with the pompadour, Llewellyn says. Chloe Sevigny’s character in the HBO show “Big Love,” about modern polygamist Mormons, has mastered the ’do.
    Celebrity stylist and salon owner Ted Gibson thinks it gives off a “homely” impression.
    “It says ‘I don’t really care very much. I really don’t have time to worry about the way that I look, because I have 20 children,’ ” Gibson said. “He’s going from wife to wife to wife, so why should I look any better than the other ones?”
    Still, it’s not outlandish to imagine the prairie look influencing today’s styles, given that trends can come from unexpected places, and Sevigny is known as a style-setter. You can already find blouses with high necks and ruffles in stores, and puffed shoulders on short and longsleeved shirts.
    Prairie skirts are in fashion this season, while dusty pastels and neutrals are being introduced to offset trendy bold colors and patterns.
    Long hair is also on its way back in, preparing to replace the currently fashionable bobs, Gibson says. Buns never go completely out of style, according to Gibson — he often gives celebrities a halfup-half-down ’do, essentially what we’re seeing in the photographs coming out of Texas.
    But for the most part, the looks that arise from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are likely to stay there.
    On her blog, the fashion editor of glam.com  wondered if the spotlight on the Texas raid would make otherwise innocuous pastels unsavory, given their dubious association with polygamists.

TONY GUTIERREZ/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rod Parker, left, the attorney serving as spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, addresses a group of its members as they prepare to meet with the media recently.

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Post reports, she's listed as Obama delegate
Roommate stunned by claims Colo. woman's bogus call triggered FLDS raid
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/20/2008 10:55:53 AM MDT


The Denver Post
    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman who may have sparked a massive child-protection raid at a polygamist compound in Texas kept a steady job and gave no hint of her activities to those closest to her.
    "She is the last person I would expect to do something like this," said a woman in her mid-20s who described herself as the roommate of Rozita Swinton. Speaking at the door of their apartment, the roommate described Swinton as a steady, soft-hearted person.
    But growing evidence indicates Swinton repeatedly made calls to authorities in multiple jurisdictions, setting off large emergency responses that sometimes involved dozens of police officers.
    The Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed Friday that Swinton was a person of interest in calls placed to a crisis hotline by someone claiming to be Sarah, a 16-year-old girl who had been sexually abused and beaten by a 50-year-old polygamous husband.
    The reports in late March led to a raid that began April 3 at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, in which 416 children were taken into custody.
    The roommate said Saturday that she was stunned to learn Swinton may have been involved. The two have been longtime friends.
Swinton, who often did kind deeds for many different people, allowed her to move in April 4, said the roommate, who declined to give her name because she said her boss had warned her not to speak to the media.
    Swinton has never married and has no children. She works for a Denver insurance company, the roommate said.
    Swinton is also listed on the El Paso County Democratic Party's website as her neighborhood precinct's delegate to the state Democratic convention in May, supporting Sen. Barack Obama.
    The roommate said they never spoke about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints group, and she did not know anything about false distress calls.
    The last time she saw Swinton was Wednesday after police arrived at the apartment. Colorado Springs police, accompanied by Texas Rangers, arrested Swinton in a local case, and Texas officials searched the home.
    The Texas Rangers found items of interest during the search and the investigation is continuing.
    In June 2005, Castle Rock police arrested Swinton after she posed as the teen mother of a newborn and told an adoption agency and police she was considering suicide and leaving the baby at a fire station, Castle Rock police Sgt. Scott Claton said.
    Authorities charged her with filing a false police report. She is currently serving a one-year deferred sentence in that case.
    In February, dozens of Colorado Springs police searched for a girl claiming to be locked in a basement. Again, it turned out to be Swinton.
    Flora Jessop, a former polygamist-sect member who now runs a crisis center, says Swinton repeatedly called her posing as a young abused girl and could be the same person whose complaints led to the April 3 raid on the Texas ranch.
    Jessop said she first received a call March 30 from a woman, since identified as Swinton, claiming to be an abuse victim named Sarah.
    But the hotline call that led to the raid wasn't publicized until after Jessop spoke with Sarah, leaving Jessop to speculate that she could have been the same person making the calls.
    "It does kind of indicate (Swinton) made those calls," Jessop said. "There was no press on it at the time."
    Jessop, who operates a rescue mission for teenage girls trying to escape the sect, said she recorded between 30 and 40 hours of phone conversations with Swinton, who alternately claimed to be Sarah; Sarah's twin sister Laura; and Laura's friend.
    Swinton would call Jessop after 8:30 p.m. and speak in a subdued voice because she said that is when others in the compound were sleeping.
    "She was very convincing," Jessop said. "She very much thought this out."
    The person obviously had studied the FLDS culture, she said.
    Jessop became suspicious and contacted the Texas Rangers after the same person, who sounded like a frightened young girl, called saying she was Sarah's sister and lived in Colorado City.
    Jessop sent recordings to the Texas Rangers, who traced the calls to Swinton's phone.
  

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If calls about sect were fake, will it matter?
Legal experts disagree over impact on future prosecutions
By GARY SCHARRER and LISA SANDBERG
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau


AUSTIN — With evidence suggesting the anonymous calls that triggered a massive raid on a West Texas polygamist compound could have been a hoax, legal experts disagree on the effect a fabricated story could have on future criminal prosecutions.

Some lawyers believe any criminal charges of child sexual abuse would face tough legal scrutiny if the calls turn out to be phony, but some law school professors believe the state should prevail.

Calls to a San Angelo crisis center from someone who said she was 16 and had been beaten and raped by her much older husband resulted in Child Protective Services removing more than 400 children from the ranch outside of Eldorado. Authorities have found no trace of the girl.

Texas Rangers have since identified Rozita Swinton, 33, of Colorado Springs as "a person of interest" in the West Texas case after hearing recorded calls she made to a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In those calls, Swinton pretended to be the 16-year-old twin sister of "Sarah," the girl whose distress calls resulted in the raid of the Eldorado compound. In her calls, Swinton pretended to be in the same predicament as Sarah, the subject of unwanted sex with a much older husband.

She made the calls to Flora Jessop, a former FLDS member who now runs Child Protection Project, which helps girls and women escape from the sect. Jessop said the Rangers told her that Swinton had volumes of material related to the sect inside her apartment.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials will only say that they had interviewed Swinton and were evaluating evidence taken from her apartment.

They would not say if they now think the Texas calls were a hoax.

If the calls turn out to be fake, some criminal defense lawyers said they doubt any criminal charges that may be filed in the case would stand up in court.

An anonymous call is not sufficient to grant a search and seizure, Houston lawyer Charles Portz said. "That's not probable cause. What other proof do they have?" he said.

"Are they DNA testing for sexual contact or to see who the parents are?" Portz asked.

Jim Harrington, head of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said it will matter if the original call was legitimate or a hoax.

"The officials have a duty to investigate and make sure that there's a reasonableness and the credibility to that call," he said. "The general rule is that you cannot have a warrant based solely on an anonymous call. There has to be other factors that come into play that demonstrate the reliability of the anonymous call. Otherwise you could imagine the havoc from people filing these false (reports) all the time."

State officials are confusing family law standards governing the interests of children with criminal conduct involving abuse with children, Harrington said. The state is misguided to separate children from mothers instead of removing older men suspected of sexually abusing children, he said.

But some law school professors disagree.

An anonymous call that turns out to be a hoax "is completely after the fact and has no legal relevance," said Sandra Carnahan, who teaches criminal procedure at Houston's South Texas College of Law. "The issue will be whether the (search) warrant is valid on its face."

The judge may have had enough reason to sign a warrant if the anonymous caller, whether legitimate or not, provided ample detail about conditions inside the compound, Carnahan said.

Jack Sampson, a professor in the University of Texas Law School's Children's Rights Clinic, said CPS workers were obligated to investigate the allegations as a civil matter. Whether it turns into a criminal issue is to be decided.

"We don't know who the father is. But we do know that if the father is more than two years older (than the underage mother), that there's been a crime," Sampson said.

CPS spokesman Darrell Azar said it doesn't matter if the original call turns out to be a hoax.

"What matters is what we found there. We found a number of children as young as 13 who were being married and were giving birth to children and who were sexually abused and the judge agreed," Azar said.

"So it doesn't really matter what happens with that situation. Once we get a report, we're obligated — legally and morally — to investigate," he said.

Also Monday, authorities in San Angelo began fingerprinting, photographing and taking DNA samples from the children seized from the Yearning for Zion Ranch.

DNA tests, conducted with cheek swabs, will begin on the parents today.

On Friday, a state judge ordered the children and their parents to undergo the tests so authorities could determine family connections.

Test results should be completed in a little more than a month, said Greg Cunningham, a spokesman for the state's Department of Family and Protective Services.

In a sign of continuing chaos surrounding the case, DFPS on Monday revised the number of children in protective custody from 416 to 437.

"We didn't get a good count. They were moving around, some of them were in different rooms when we were counting," explained Shari Pulliam of DFPS. And some teens said they were adults when they were really minors.

With some playing soccer and kickball on Monday, the children were adjusting to life at their makeshift shelters as well as could be expected, said Cunningham.

But they face another major challenge: In a few days, when all the DNA testing is done, they will be put into foster care. The ones who are 4 and younger have had their mothers with them since they were taken from the ranch. Their mothers will have to remain behind.

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Nevada father submits DNA, lashes at raid
Former FLDS member drives 1,200 miles in an effort to get his sons out
By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/23/2008 02:41:59 AM MDT


ELDORADO, Texas - A 32-year-old Nevada man drove 1,200 miles with a photo album of his children and said he would provide a DNA sample to Texas authorities Tuesday to prove paternity and get his three sons out of state custody.
    David J. Williams, a former member of the FLDS polygamous sect, whose ranch was raided by authorities earlier this month, called the siege "an injustice" perpetrated by "unhonorable bastards."
    The boys - Parley, 9; Jacob, 7; and Teral, 5 - were among the 437 children rounded up after a Texas judge signed an order saying the children were exposed to a lifestyle that made them either perpetrators or victims of abuse.
    The raid was sparked by calls
to a domestic violence shelter by a teen who said she was being abused at the ranch. Investigators have not located the girl and are investigating whether the calls were a hoax.
    Meanwhile, authorities launched an effort to conduct DNA screenings of children, mothers and fathers to determine family ties.
    Parents who do not provide DNA samples risk being held in contempt of court, said Janice Rolfe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General's Office.
    The A.G.'s Office is supervising the collections and would make arrangements for parents in other states to be tested if needed, Rolfe said. "Distance would not be a roadblock to carrying testing out."
   The samples will be processed by the Laboratory Corp. of America at a cost of more than $50,000. Results will be available in 30 to 40 days, said Shari Pulliam, a spokeswoman for the Department of Family and Protective Services.
    As Williams walked into a small building behind the Schleicher County Courthouse, where technicians were swabbing the mouths of adult FLDS members, he said he would do anything to "free" his sons.
    "They are being held hostage by a state that seems to abuse power," he said.
    Williams left the FLDS three and a half years ago, but would not say why. About that time, his former wife, Marie, and their three sons moved to the Texas ranch. He insisted there is no abuse of children there.
    "These children are very much loved and cared for," Williams said, adding that he thought the raid was motivated by bias against the FLDS and their belief in plural marriage.
    About two dozen FLDS men and women filed in and out of the building for DNA screening. The number appeared to fall short of the total adult population of the ranch. All declined to comment except for a man who identified himself only as Rulon. He said his six children, ages 1 to 9, are all in state custody.
    He called the raid that took the children "an embarrassment to Texas."
    "We have nothing to hide," he said after he had his mouth swabbed. "But this makes you feel like a criminal."
    Salt Lake City-based attorney Rod Parker, who represents FLDS families, on Tuesday accused Texas Child Protective Services of playing dumb about the children's parentage.
    Texas authorities have access to birth certificates, he said, noting that the DNA tests could have dual purpose in assisting with criminal prosecutions.

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Titled 'Cultural Competencies'
Workers' tipsheet on FLDS sparks outrage
It promotes stereotypes, attorney says; source for document says it's about 'how you respect' the sect
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/23/2008 02:42:55 AM MDT


SAN ANGELO, Texas - A tipsheet provided to Texas case workers working with women and children from a polygamous sect has outraged an attorney working with their families, who says it promotes unfounded stereotypes.
    The "Cultural Competencies" tipsheet warns that workers should expect FLDS members to be fearful, self-destructive and distrustful of government.
    Sect members believe "other religions and gentiles are doing Satan's work," it says, and warns that mothers may display "learned and enforced helplessness" that renders them incapable of making decisions for their children.
    Salt Lake City attorney Rod Parker, acting as a spokesman for the families, said the sheet was
put together with the help of anti-polygamy activists and exemplifies the state's bias in dealing with the religious sect.
    "Apparently, they don't investigate anything, they just shoot from the hip," Parker said. "To think they would get accurate information is foolish."
    Greg Cunningham, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said authorities worked with several sources to gather information for the tipsheet.
    Among those sources: three Utah women who traveled to Texas two days after the raid. Shannon Price, accompanied by two ex-sect members, said she came to Texas to provide "cultural competency" and advised investigators on such topics
as how to ask questions about sexual abuse and clothing preferences of the FLDS.
    With her were Elissa Wall, who was the key witness in Utah's criminal prosecution of FLDS president Warren S. Jeffs, and Carolyn Jessop, once a plural wife of the man who oversees the YFZ Ranch, which Texas raided on April 3.
    Price said her comments were about "how you respect the population, not how you vilify it."
    The Utah Attorney General's Office also has provided information to Texas authorities. Spokesman Paul Murphy said he sent a polygamy primer and services directory prepared by his office as part of its outreach to polygamous groups. Murphy also sent a child placement agency in Texas a copy of a videorecording of a polygamy summit that included a presentation by cult expert Steve Hassan.
    A section of the tipsheet titled "FLDS Woman's Cultural Mentality" states that women travel with "two spies" and believe they are not going to be accepted by the "gentile world." Children, it says, are embarrassed by their mothers.
    "Oh, really?" said one FLDS mother, who asked to not be identified. Parker said he was particularly perturbed by stereotypes of FLDS women.
    "The document doesn't evidence any effort to seek out balance whatsoever," he said. "It is completely one-sided. It is the propaganda of the anti-polygamy spin written down as though it's cultural sensitivity."
    The tipsheet is accurate on some points. It says that FLDS children do not play competitive games. The FLDS discourage such activities if winning is the goal rather than having a good time, one parent said.
    It's true, too, that FLDS parents are advised to avoid exposing their children to fairy tales and animated characters with human characteristics, such as talking animals, which demean God's creations, the woman said.

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ELDORADO, Texas - A 32-year-old Nevada man drove 1,200 miles with a photo album of his children and said he would provide a DNA sample to Texas authorities Tuesday to prove paternity and get his three sons out of state custody.
    David J. Williams, a former member of the FLDS polygamous sect, whose ranch was raided by authorities earlier this month, called the siege "an injustice" perpetrated by "unhonorable bastards."
    The boys - Parley, 9; Jacob, 7; and Teral, 5 - were among the 437 children rounded up after a Texas judge signed an order saying the children were exposed to a lifestyle that made them either perpetrators or victims of abuse.